Is it time to replace your old dryer? Great news: The federal Energy Star program has started certifying clothes dryers, making it easy to pick out the most cost-effective and efficient models. Read on to find out what the change means and how to pick out the best model for your home.

Moisture and Heat Settings

The upside is clear: “ENERGY STAR certified dryers use 20 percent less energy than conventional models without sacrificing features or performance,” the program promises. So what took so long for dryers to get the federal efficiency stamp of approval?

“With dryers there are fewer major variables to manipulate — mostly it’s drying time and the amount of heat provided,” said Emilio Gonzalez, a Consumer Reports test engineer, so it was harder to find adjustments to meet the standard.

How did manufacturers finally find the extra energy savings?

The savings are not trivial. Energy Star claims that if every household in America switched over, consumers would save a total of $1.5 billion annually in utilities. The reduction in pollution would be the same as taking 2 million cars off the road.

Upgrade the Laundry Room

The first certified models are already available -- find a list of them on the Energy Star directory, which allows you to compare size, fuel type, energy use and other factors.

If you have a gas hookup in your laundry room, consider purchasing a gas-powered dryer. These models have a higher price tag but are more efficient across the board than their electric cousins. No matter what kind of dryer you buy, make sure you adhere to the following tips so you get the most for your money:

relatively high ceilings. Drive by any industrial park, warehouse, or factory, and walk inside and what you will see is a high bay light.

But walk into any factory or warehouse and you will see different styles and options, wattage’s and configurations. Traditional high bay fixtures that were once common place were Mercury Vapor, which were then replaced with High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide bulbs. As new technologies were introduced, and old technologies became more common, the old HID bulbs were replaced with Induction and Fluorescent light sources. And more recently with the more wide spread approval and popularity of LED, we started to see conversions from these older technologies to the latest energy saving LED High Bays.

A High Bay Fixture, depending on the light source, can take on many forms and shapes. If you consider a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium fixture, they typically consist of a large heat sink block at the top of the fixture that typically houses the fixtures ballast. Below is an aluminum or acrylic dome and at the top of the dome is the HID bulb. These bulbs typically come in two wattage’s, 400 and 1000. 400 Watt Fixtures tend to be installed in ceiling heights no higher than 30 feet, 1000 watt fixtures are typically 40 feet or higher. Interestingly enough, spacing of lights is similar to the height they are located off the floor. A fixture installed at 20 feet from the floor is installed in a 20X20 pattern, 30 feet in a 30X30 pattern, 40 feet in a 40X40 pattern. Of the 3 type of HID bulbs, Metal Halide tends to be the best option. High Pressure Sodium Bulbs are very low on the temperature color and have the warehouse aisles have the ability to focus the light where it is needed. A light designed for a warehouse aisle is a lot different than a light designed for a gymnasium or a factory floor. In these spaces, a light that can flood the area evenly is important, in a warehouse aisle, a light that can light up the face of the shelves and the floor below is important. And when selecting energy efficient options, its just as important to understand the technology and what it is capable of doing. Adding controls to a T5 fluorescent fixture is a good idea only if the ballast is designed to handle that requirement and not lower the life expectancy of the bulbs. Motions sensors and daylight controls that dim the light output based on occupants and the amount of daylight available in the space. Technologies such as metal halide and high pressure sodium are not a good choice as these technologies are not good at dimming or turn on or off quickly. Fluorescent can dim, but you need special ballasts for them. So knowing what you want to do and may want to do is important at time of purchase, because not having the proper equipment or options could mean a costly lighting warehouses, factories, gyms and readily available through the utility companies, and mass adoption means the technology of LED had matured to the point where the questions and disbelief of past years have gone away.

video in which Kathleen Packard, their Healthcare Market Development Manager, discusses how some innovations in lighting can positively affect the healing process (and save energy and money). Packard describes hospitals as being historically “institutional and very uncomfortable,” and her mission is to educate the public on the “importance of design” to patient health.

intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell in the human eye, which senses light and regulates the body’s systems, including melatonin levels, which are directly related to sleep. Visa’s Amber Night Light, she says, creates ambient light that won’t disturb the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell. This allows nurses to check on patients without disturbing their sleep.

Of course, all this valuable information leads us to the problems solved by Visa Lighting’s healthcare light fixtures. Packard calls special attention to the benefits of using LED fixtures. She reminds us that LEDs are indeed a great option for hospitals because they are energy efficient and therefore save money, reducing the cost of healthcare; they render color well, which is necessary, so that doctors and nurses can accurately assess skin pallor; and, unlike fluorescent lamps, LEDs contain no mercury.

It’s full-on spring, and there seems to be a lot of activity in the landscape lighting world. That’s probably because landscape lighting is generally a great and affordable way to significantly improve the curb appeal of your home. Landscape lighting ideas abound on the internet, and, since it’s a popular season for landscape lights, I thought I would curate for you some of the best landscape lighting I have seen out there on the Web.

1. Wall Grazing at Its Finest

Wall grazing is a lighting technique in which light is cast up or down a wall in order to let the light and shadow play off the wall’s texture. Wall grazing works especially well on this wonderfully textured stone wall. Interesting walls like this almost demand uplights to play off their texture.

2. Cinematic Pond Beacon Situation

Very bright light on this structure in the middle of a pond creates a dramatic, almost cinematic effect. Bright uplights on the trees give some context to the attractive structure.

3. Variations on a Path

Using different styles of path light can make the walk to the house much more interesting. Never assume it’s law that all your path lights match. Mixing it up a little gives the eye a lot more to look at, and the outdoor lighting design looks more calculated, in a good way. Instead of the string of path lights that come in a pack, this is conscious design that makes every trip to the front door pleasant.

4. Variation on Variations on a Path

Another way you can break the monotony of path lighting is to place your path lights according to the visual features along the path, like plants or garden ornaments. Setting up the path lights to be spaced a little farther apart and placing them in different proximity to the path – now directly on the path, now set back near some interesting plants – leads the eye farther down the path, which creates a spectacle and gives the eye much more to admire.

5. Path Lighting without all the Path Lights

Landscape lighting doesn’t always have to include path lights. Here, adequate illumination and very attractive lighting design is achieved by uplighting trees and using downlights mounted on the house.

6. Moon Lighting: A Supernatural Experience?

Moonlighting is a technique in which lights are hidden higher up in trees to create an ambient effect. Pretty cool!

7. Under Counter Lights

One really cool outdoor lighting effect is under counter lighting. Led rope, tape, or LED tape rope hybrid can be run under the edge of counter, stone wall ledge, bar, island, or bridge to create a wonderful lighting effect. This is one application in which LED landscape lighting works really well.

8. Water + Lighting =  Awesome

What’s cooler than light fixtures giving an almost otherworldly beauty to outdoor water features? This is my personal favorite kind of landscape lighting. It just provides such a reliably relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. If your home is your sanctuary, you might want to consider this one-two-three punch of water, sound, and light.

9. Shadowy Magic

Moonlighting can also be used to create cool shadows on the path. See that light mounted up in that tree? It mimics the light of the moon, creating interesting shadows on the ground and enough ambient light to see where you’re walking. Great lighting design.

10. Lit Up Night Time Oasis

There are a lot of interesting things going on here. The space feels large and luxurious, in part because that uplight at the back draws the eye directly to the back edge of the space, making the whole spread look larger. The path lights around the perimeter draw attention to the landscaping. Of course, the star of this show is the cove lighting used around the bridge, making it look almost as if it is floating on light. Yes to this.

11. Epic Landscape Lighting in a Park

I mean, this pretty much speaks for itself. The high powered uplights illuminating the tall canopy creates an amazing effect. Not only is it beautiful, but it also represents the dual purpose of landscape lighting: To beautify and to make safer. Urban parks can be dangerous, but this one looks even more welcoming at night.